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The remarkable story of the Knights Templar – the wealthiest, most powerful and most secretive of the military orders that flourished in the crusading era.

The Knights Templar were the wealthiest, most powerful – and most secretive – of the military orders that flourished in the crusading era. Their story – encompassing as it does the greatest international conflict of the Middle Ages, a network of international finance, a swift rise in wealth and influence followed by a bloody and humiliating fall – has left a comet's tail of mystery that continues to fascinate and inspire historians, novelists and conspiracy theorists.

About the Author

Dan Jones is a broadcaster, award-winning journalist and pioneer of the resurgence of interest in medieval history. He is the bestselling author of Summer of Blood, The Plantagenets, Magna Carta and Realm Divided. He lives in London.

'This captivating history charts [the Templars'] rise and spectacular fall' Tatler. 'When it comes to rip-roaring medieval narratives, Jones has few peers, and in the Templars he finds the perfect subject' The Sunday Times History Books of the Year. 'Mixing serious scholarship with tales of bloody battle, triumph and betrayal, it's superb' Saga. 'Jones has created a fresh and nuanced chronicle of the Knights Templar, filled with excitement, blood and wit in his trademark style. It is definitely a must-have for any fan of the Middle Ages' All About History. 'A no-nonsense account of the Catholic military order' Guardian. 'The Templars threatens to be his best [book] yet. Combining a fascinating story with an almost novelistic narrative, it's the literary equivalent of one of those miniseries that you never want to end' Surrey Life. 'Told with all Jones's usual verve and panache, this is a dramatic and gripping tale of courage and stupidity, faith and betrayal' Mail on Sunday. 'Exhilarating, epic, sword-swinging history ... A skilful storyteller whose psychological portraits of the unforgettable characters allow them to spring from the page he enlivens the narrative with bloodcurdling details and arresting turns of phrase ... there is also fine scholarly intuition' TLS. 'Jones attempts to separate fact from fiction in his usual entertaining style' BBC History. 'A pacey narrative history laced with tales of blood and bravery' The Times. 'Snappy, well-paced ... The author's ambition, he says, is to tell the story of the Templars in a straightforward way and "to write a book that will entertain as well as inform". He has done precisely that' Daily Telegraph. 'A history of the Templars is necessarily also one of the crusades - which Jones cannily makes topical' The Spectator. 'Jones's latest book is a great deal better than merely sane [thanks to the] wide-ranging and thorough research' Literary Review. 'A fascinating story of fanaticism ... Jones is certainly an entertainer, but also a fine historian who knows how to render serious scholarship into accessible prose. Seldom does one find serious history that is so easy to read' The Times. 'Fast-paced narrative history depicted with irresistible verve, bloody battle scenes and moments of laugh-out-loud wit ... This is another triumphant tale from a historian who writes as addictively as any page-turning novelist' Observer. 'The story of the Templars, the ultimate holy warriors, is an extraordinary saga of fanaticism, bravery, treachery and betrayal, and in Dan Jones they have a worthy chronicler. The Templars is a wonderful book!' Bernard Cornwall, author of The Last Kingdom. 'Dan Jones has created a gripping page-turner out of the dramatic history of the Templars, from their spiritual warrior beginnings until their tragic destruction by the French king and the pope. It is genuinely moving and a chilling contemporary warning about the abuse of power through persecution and lies' Philippa Gregory, author of The White Queen. 'A fresh, muscular and compelling history of the ultimate military-religious crusading order, combining sensible scholarship with narrative swagger, featuring a cast of exuberantly monstrous sword-swingers spattering Christian and Islamic blood from Spain to Jerusalem' Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of Jerusalem: The Biography. 'Jones carries the Templars through the crusades with clarity and verve. This is unabashed narrative history, fast-paced and full of incident ... Jones tells their story extremely well' The Sunday Times. 'Exhilarating, epic, sword-swinging history ... A skilful storyteller [...] he enlivens the narrative with bloodcurdling details and arresting turns of phrase ... There is also fine scholarly intuition' TLS.